Fly Into Pieces
by Teecups
Summary: For a long time now, everything's been calm. No battles, no threats. But when the group finds a small girl barely alive in the forest, It's all going to change pretty quickly. Renamed, T for swearing.
1. Found

Her feet darted frantically and unevenly over the ground, decaying sticks and leaves proclaiming the near end of fall. It had been years since she had been able to run like this.

And at the same time, she was struck cold with fear.

If it weren't for subconscious thoughts, she'd probably be dead by now. Small portions of her face were scratched from running through the many pine trees that grew along the outskirts of the forest, black cat ears pinned fretfully against the back of her head. Somewhere in her mind full of jumbled thoughts, it occurred to her that just the sound of her ragged breathing, let alone the twigs snapping under her feet could have given her away at any moment now. Her body ached, but she was well aware that she had to keep running. _They_ were close. She could tell through that tiny part of her consciousness that they all had.

Pale, hazel eyes were constantly searching for any threat of danger around her, dark, chocolate brown hair whipped around her face. Her body screamed in protest, but she kept running.

_Faster._

_**Faster!**_

The girl stumbled suddenly, her foot catching on a fallen branch. She grunted as she pulled herself back up. She didn't care, though. The only thing that kept the tired neko going was the single fact that all forests have to have at least one clearing.

Ritsuka snapped a picture happily. The purpose of the photography, Soubi stood a short distance away, letting a bright blue butterfly sit on his hand. Gently waving said hand, the butterfly flew off, dancing in the autumn breeze. It stayed like that for a minute or so, floating around them before flying off to someplace, Ritsuka hoped, was warmer. Because his eyes were still on the butterfly, the small boy didn't notice as Soubi came up behind him, resting his chin between two black fluffy ears and resting his arms around said sacrifice's shoulders. Both sacrifice and fighter kept their eyes toward the now setting sun, Soubi sighing contently. His breath ghosted over Ritsuka's face, sending slight chills down his spine. The fighter chuckled inwardly; he could feel the boy's slight discomfort.

"Ready to go, Ritsuka?" He breathed.

As said sacrifice opened his mouth to answer, something unexpected came out.

"**RITSUKAAAHHHH!!!!!**"

Youji and Natsuo suddenly came crashing through the trees, laughing and giggling loudly; the last rays of the setting sun dancing across their grinning faces. Youji was piggybacking Natsuo, whose red locks of hair seemed to be hopelessly tangled with leaves. The scene in front of Ritsuka made him chuckle softly. He felt Soubi chuckle faintly as Youji tripped over a tree root, sending both zero sprawling into a massive pile of autumn leaves. Finally finding his balance, Natsuo stood up happily, and gestured towards the path they had just run from. "There's a river down that way!" Youji then poked his head out of the leaves, and with a sharp squeal of laughter from his fighter tackled Natsuo to the ground again, leaves erupting like a small volcano where they had fallen.

"Can we stay longer, Soubi?" Ritsuka laughed, turning his attention from the wrestling zero to him. He heard Youji respond with a vivid "I agree!!" before being tackled into the leaves again. Soubi smiled softly, before responding. "We shall stay as long as you like."

Ritsuka was now fourteen, and zero had decided that they were fifteen; they had never discovered the day they had been born,( or more appropriately, created.) so they counted it as a day in the summer. By the way Ritsuka had watched them resolve it; they didn't seem to care much. He had never really asked Soubi how old he was, because it had never really mattered to the neko boy. Lately, though, Soubi was tense. Ritsuka knew that he was smart to stay on his guard, but it was starting to become,-in his mind,- a little foolish. No spell battles, signals, or anything about spell battles had happened for a long time now.

And that usually wasn't a good thing.

"We're gonna go see where the river ends!" He heard Youji yell as him and Natsuo ran back into the forest, swinging hands and laughing again. _Jeez, those guys never run out of energy..._

"Look, Ritsuka."

Said boy glanced as his fighter, who was looking overhead of them into the sky. As Ritsuka looked to the sky, the sight surprised him as it also warmed his heart.

Huge, multicolored butterflies were flying above them. There couldn't be more then twelve, Ritsuka noted, as he and Soubi watched them fly south. _At least they'd be warm soon_.

Soubi and Ritsuka sat down at their old picnic table, glad to have beheld the sight. They relaxed together, and Soubi was secretly glad about this. The older fighter had a feeling that it was one of the last times they would be able to do so.

He felt something coming.

----

Zero ran alongside of the river, pulling each other along by their hands. Both were laughing happily, pointing out interesting parts of the river when they felt like it. So far, they had found rock-filled rapids and tiny fish. Both had a sense of freedom about today, and they wanted to make it last.

"Oi, Natsuo." Youji called a smile still on his face as he looked up through the dense trees. The sky was beginning to darken quickly, quicker then he had realized. "We should start heading back soon, we might get lost as it gets darker."

Natsuo turned to him then, grinning. "Since when were **you** the careful one?" he snickered. "Besides, I don't think a beating will get the message through to us." Both zero laughed, and then continued to walk alongside the river, the rapids long behind them.

"Like Soubi would even **try** it."

* * *

_About an hour earlier;_

A high pitched, ringing sound snapped her out of her own, jumbled thoughts. Knowing exactly what it was, the neko pushed herself harder. She knew that she couldn't stop and hide, There was nowhere to even attempt it. Looking to the sky in front of her, she cursed herself mentally. The sun was setting.

She knew that the high pitched sound could only have come from one of _**them. **_At this thought her footing evened out considerably, the adrenaline pumping mercilessly through her veins gradually reminding her that it was most likely the only thing that had kept her concentrated. Her heartbeat thumped unsteadily against her chest, and she knew that if she didn't think of something fast- well, she decided at that point not to think about the future of that problem. Nor did she have time to think about it for long, as a giant, unnatural burst of wind shot back her left ear, leaving her ears ringing loudly.

_**NO!**_

The girl felt herself panic slightly as she looked around. She could see nothing of where it had come from. Violently remembering a flash of green eyes, she shook her head. Her fear now kept her senses on high.

She veered off her path. Having no way of knowing where they were or no way of sensing them, the best thing she could think of was to change course. It might distract them for a couple seconds at most, but she could always use more time.

The gust of wind had been from them. She knew that. Only they could cast a spell using wind and have it come out so strong. She understood that from the last time. Breaking through a small clearing in the forest, the smell of water hit her square in the face, lifting her spirits. Water meant a clearing. Which also meant that she might make it out of here okay.

Crunching footsteps behind her broke her out of her happy thoughts. Running frantically through the now-less-dense clump of trees, her joy suddenly left her, making her feel horribly hollow.

Skidding to a halt, she stood at the end of a cliff.

_Why me?.._

They were coming for her now, she knew that. They wanted to take her back to that dreadful place. _No,_ she thought strongly, turning to face the clearing where she was sure they were to come any minute now. _I will __**never**__ let them take me back there._

Scanning the end of the cliff, she noticed there was a river there. That's where the scent of water had come from. The height seemed to be not too far, and the water would break her fall- as long as it didn't break her first. She shivered. The drop suddenly seemed a lot more menacing.

A yell echoed from the trees, and a tunnel of air erupted toward her. Barely managing to jump out of the way, it hit the opposite side of the cliff, leaving a massive dent in the rocks. Not that anyone could see it. The sky had now turned an odd shade of black.

The very last thing she saw before the neko girl jumped, were a pair of violent green eyes.

* * *

The girl sneered as she heard the splash, a muscled fist clenched, and her black bangs in her eyes.

"He'll kill us now. First, he'll take our names, and then he'll kill us."

The light haired brunette boy behind her looked calm as he spoke to his fighter, his name shown visibly on the side of his hand as he placed it on her shoulder.

"You forget that the mission isn't finished."

As she heard his words, the girl's fist loosened slightly.

* * *

"It's starting to get late."

Ritsuka looked up to the sky, to find it a dark shade of blue. Both fighter and sacrifice knew that Zero could handle themselves if anything happened, but that thought didn't seem to keep Ritsuka from worrying about them.

Then again, he didn't have to worry for long.

"RITSUKA! SOUBI!"

Natsuo came running through the trees, alone, his blue jeans soaked up to a little over his knees. Soubi tensed. Ritsuka tried to ask what was wrong, but the look Natsuo had in his eye told him to stay silent. The zero fighter ran back into the trees, and this time Ritsuka and Soubi followed him.

Ritsuka gripped his fighter's hand as they ran, Green blurs of the trees at the sides of his vision. He was partly trusting Soubi on where they were going, because he couldn't see that well. Natsuo ran so quickly that they would catch glimpses of his back before he disappeared through another tree. Whatever he wanted them to see, Soubi thought, it wasn't going to be a good thing.

He had ruled out Youji as injured as soon as he had seen Natsuo run through the trees alone. The fighter would most likely drag Youji into the clearing by himself then come and get them first.

As the ground became slightly steeper, Ritsuka heard the sound of running water. Seemingly invigorated by the sound, Natsuo ran even faster. _Thank Kami the river runs straight, _Thought Ritsuka.

After running for what felt like another 45 minutes, they came to the end of the river. What they found there surprised them.

Youji was almost waist high in the water, wading out to something white and seemingly draped over a rock. As he reached the object, Ritsuka realized with a jolt that it was a person. A seemingly small girl. She still had her ears.

As they got closer, (Natsuo obviously arriving first) Youji managed to pull the girl's arm over his shoulder and wade back to the edge of the now-still river. Natsuo took hold of the girl as Youji pulled himself out of the water, Natsuo placing the girl on her back carefully.

As Ritsuka and Soubi arrived, Youji spoke.

"She's dead." said Youji. He stood next to Natsuo, his arms folded over his chest. As Ritsuka looked around the area that they were in now, he realized that this girl could have been in the water for days, and no one would have known. Not many people were up to wandering this deep into the forest. As he looked up at Soubi, He saw his fighter was most likely thinking along the same lines. The blonde leaned down, supporting the girl's neck with the fingers on his right hand. Youji sighed, before speaking. "I already checked for a pulse when you were coming. None at all. She's dead."

"I'm not checking her pulse." Soubi said quietly, and closed his eyes. His index and middle fingers hovered over the spot on her neck, where one would usually check for a pulse. The neko's face was very pale, and Ritsuka wondered briefly what Soubi was doing. Walking up to him and sitting down, he leaned against his fighter's shoulder. Soubi, in response, wrapped his other arm around the boy's slender waist.

They stayed like that for a long time.

As a couple of minutes passed, Ritsuka realized what he was doing. The way the blonde's hair flowed delicately, even though there was no breeze, gave it away. He was casting a spell.

But what spell? The neko boy couldn't hear anything from his fighter, and they had never gone into battle mode.

It was almost pitch black outside, but still they waited.

Ten minutes.

Fifteen minutes.

Twenty min-

**Thud.**

Ritsuka jolted in surprise.

Over the neko girl, floated a very abused-looking and torn silver thread. It seemed to be very short, and was startlingly thin.

**Thud.**

"Soubi."

The girl's mouth parted very slightly, and oxygen escaped through her lips.

Her torn and battered connection thread disappeared from Ritsuka's sight, as he looked at Soubi. The fighter suddenly looked very tired in the dim light that the moon now gave off, but the tiny smile on his face made Ritsuka smile along with him.

Behind them, Natsuo smiled softly as Youji smirked.

"Oy, Soubi. I'm not carrying her."

**_XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX_**

This is my first fanfic **_ever._** Juuust like to stress that.

this has been through about three to four rewrites, so if it seems short, I'm sorry. xD;

**If I owned Loveless, There'd be another anime series and about 20 new manga books out. So I don't. _;**

Thanks for reading. ;D new chapter hopefully coming soon.~


	2. Awakening

It was bright.

_Too bright, uuggghhh…_

Ritsuka groaned, and opened his eyes. Even through the blinds of the window, the autumn sun shone vibrantly and irritated his eyes. Half asleep, he moved in closer to the warm blankets. Snuggling against his pillow, He sighed contently.

Wait.

_The bed's too small for…_

Then he realized it smelled of tobacco.

Holding back a squeak of surprise, he rolled over to the opposite side of the bed. Soubi lay there in a deep sleep, the blankets pooled around his hips and shirtless.

Ritsuka had a sudden urge to feel for his ears.

Instead, he laughed quietly at the sight of his fighter on the side of the bed. His glasses were on the side table, and his long blonde hair was slightly tangled in clumps around his face. The normal bandages were wrapped around his neck. Glancing around Soubi for a glimpse of the alarm clock, he found it to be late morning. Thank god for Saturdays.

Sliding his way off the bed carefully, as to not wake Soubi, he walked quietly out into the hall. The first thing that caught his sight was a figure on the couch, obviously asleep, with brown hair. Then he remembered last night.

As he walked closer, a trickle of concern spread through him. Her face was pale, and she slept on her side. Crisp, white bandages wrapped around her left arm, starting from her hand. They continued down, as far as Ritsuka could see, over her chest and down her torso. Her breathing seemed shallow.

As he turned the corner, he heard more then saw Zero in the kitchen.

"Careful.. Left.. Little more.. No no no right!.." "Careful!"

Natsuo stood on Youji's shoulders, rummaging through the cupboards.

"You know, there's something called a chair.."

"This is more fun then a chair!" Youji said, taking a shaky step to the right as Natsuo laughed.

"What are you even looking for?" Ritsuka asked, sitting down at the small kitchen table.

"Those things that you put in the microwave!" Said the red haired Zero as he swayed dangerously, steadying himself on one of the cupboard doors.

"Microwave pancakes?.."

"Nono," Youji replied. "The patterned ones."

"Waffles?"

"That's it!" they both responded enthusiastically.

Ritsuka sighed. "I see."

Pouring himself some cereal, the neko sat down at watched the sparrows hop along the fence line. He heard zero fall over behind him, without their waffles. They did find the milk, though. As they sat down, a loud thud startled rather all of them, and to Ritsuka's dismay, also scared away the sparrows.

Well, Soubi never had been a morning person.

The blond walked in then, a small, sleepy smile on his face. He had thrown on a gray T-shirt, as well as the sweats he had fallen asleep in. His blonde hair fell to his shoulders, glasses placed slightly crooked onto his face.

"Godzilla!" Natsuo whispered. Youji snorted into his milk.

"Morning." The blonde said to Ritsuka as he walked in, kissing him on the top of his head. The only reason the sacrifice hadn't objected to the kiss was because he had a mouthful of Cheerios.

Damn that Soubi.

He heard his fighter sit next to him with a hot mug of coffee, the steam swirling into the air as he sipped it carefully.

"Whatever happened to Kio? Youji mentioned as he stuffed another mouthful of cereal into his mouth.

_Flashback;_

_Soubi placed the girl on the couch carefully. In the light, they could see many dark bruises that had formed on her arms and a few small ones on her face. Suddenly, Ritsuka heard a familiar voice echoing down the hall._

"_..Leave for HOURS, and never-!"_

"_Kio."_

"_Not a Phone call or anyth-"_

"_..Kio."_

"_What if Something HAPPEN-?!-"_

"_..It did."_

_Ritsuka watched as both males walked in, Kio looking slightly ashamed as his eyes met the girl on the couch. He blinked, before asking "What happened?"_

"_We don't know." He heard Natsuo call from the other room, grabbing a blanket for the unconscious neko. "Found her."_

_As he talked, Kio moved to the girl and began to look her over, surprising Ritsuka with his next sentence._

"_Go to bed, Sou-chan. I'll do this." He said as he gestured to the girl. "You all look tired as hell."_

_End flashback_

"He went home last night, after he patched up our guest for us." He said, taking another sip of his coffee. "He left a message. She's pretty banged up."

They were quiet for a while after that, all thinking of their own thoughts. Natsuo finished eating.

"..I think I know where she came from." Natsuo stated quietly, becoming interested with his empty mug. Ritsuka looked up then, his ears pricking forward.

"What do you mean, exactly..?" _Pfft._ He thought exasperatedly. _Trust Zero not to tell you the important stuff._

"Youji, do you remember the conversation we had with Nagisa-sensi a while back?.."

Youji nodded in response. Suddenly, the atmosphere became slightly darker.

"What school?.."Ritsuka asked, becoming worried. He had thought that Seven Moons had been the only school of its kind.

"It was a school for fighters." Youji started out, his chair scraping against the tiled floor as he stood, wrapping his arms around Natsuo's shoulders. "Just like Seven Moons. Well, actually, only slightly similar to them.." Natsuo shifted comfortably against his sacrifice's shoulders, picking up where he left off.

"They were cruel, and more violent to students." He continued. "Strong units advanced, and were usually fine on their own. Units that lacked confidence or strength were punished until they did better. If it didn't get any better, they'd separate the units." He sighed then, but didn't stop. "When units were separated, they had to do everything without each other. Including battle. Most of them died."

Ritsuka blinked. He'd never heard of such a thing. Youji rested his chin on the top of Natsuo's head.

"When Nagisa told us," Youji started, "She sent four or five of our strongest teams to this place, to try and shut them down. Only two of them came back, and they were pretty beat up. Those bastards. The others never made it."

They were all quiet after that. Youji took the oppourtunity to nibble on Natsuo's earlobe, earning a smirk and a whispered 'later' from the fighter.

Soubi, who had stayed fairly quiet during the conversation, spoke. "Why do you think she's from there?"

Natsuo looked up.

"She's wearing the uniform."

Ritsuka's ears flattened immediately. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to believe that this girl could be a threat. Then again, she might not be..

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Ritsuka queried, directing his attention to them.

Natsuo shrugged. "It never seemed important until now."

Soubi put his now empty coffee mug down on the table as he rested his chin on his palm. "She hurt. We just can't kick her out."

"Good point." Youji mumbled straighting up as Natsuo stood. Both Zero went to get dressed. When Ritsuka and Soubi were left alone, the sacrifice had the chance to ask his fighter one of the many questions that had been floating around his mind.

"How did you do it?" he asked quietly, picking at the handle of his glass.

"Do what?"

"Baka, you know what."

Soubi couldn't help but suppress a chuckle at the sight of his sacrifice. He was already getting pissed off.

"She was dead.. and you brought her back!" he said, becoming frustrated.

"I did something I shouldn't have." He said calmly, studying the other's face for a sign of confusion. "It's hard for me to explain, Ritsuka."

And with that, he stood, kissing him on the top of his head. "I'm getting dressed." He said simply, meeting with the now dressed Zero as he exited the kitchen.

"You guys get into a fight or something?" Natsuo asked casually as he jumped onto the counter, sitting by the sink. Youji followed him, grabbing an apple from the small fruit bowl as he went. Ritsuka sighed. "I'm getting dressed." He said as he stood up.

"Don't need to announce it to the world!" Youji snickered.

A soft groan from the couch stopped him in his tracks.

* * *

It felt too bright.

Still sleep-fogged, she tried to snuggle into the blanket over her, its warmth inviting. Groaning softly, she tried to snuggle in deeper. It was getting brighter in here.

Or was it just her?..

She stopped suddenly, he hold on the blankets tightening.

She didn't remember falling asleep. Actually, she didn't remember much other then..

_Green eyes flashed through the trees as she fell, a yell of pure rage echoing across the water.._

She gasped, and sat bolt upright.

The light that was filtering through the window blinded her for a minute as she sat up, wincing. Her arm ached, and as she looked at it the girl understood why. White bandaging covered it from the palm of her hand up. She realized that it went across her chest and down her body.

_What happened to me?..._

The girl wasn't surprised as her ribs began to throb dully. She _**had**_ jumped off a cliff, after all. She was surprised that she was even alive.

She recognized that she was lying on a couch, in the middle of a small condo-like apartment. It was too tiny to be a house. She was startled suddenly by the tapping of feet against the hardwood floor, and braced herself for anything, tensing her body. A quick flash of memory played against the back of her eyelids as she shut them tight, her black neko ears pinned against her head.

So what she wasn't expecting was a soft voice telling her 'careful' and a warm hand forcing her to lie down again. She opened her eyes (Still finding it much too bright in the room) she came face to face with a boy with matching black ears and hair, with deep violet eyes. Where was she?...

"We found you, yesterday." The boy said, smiling softly. Well, he _seemed_ friendly.

"You were unconscious and lying in the end of a river near here."

..River?

Oh.

_..Oh._

_Because it wouldn't make sense to be lying anywhere else, would it? _She told herself. She nodded to the boy, who relaxed slightly.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, standing as she slowly sat herself back up.

"..Shitty." she said, wincing as her voice cracked, thick with sleep. She heard him laugh as she rubbed her forehead. "Where am I?" she managed to say, still sounding like a frog to herself.

A different voice answered this time.

"Near Toyko." The voice said, and she turned slightly to see an older man with long blonde hair enter the room. She nodded, relieved. For the life of her, she couldn't remember why she felt relieved, or why she had been running..

"I'm Aoyagi Ritsuka." The boy with the black hair said. "Those two are Youji and Natsuo." Two boys leaned against the wall, one with mint green hair and the other with red waves. She didn't bother to ask who was who, she'd know soon enough.

"Agatsuma Soubi." The blonde said as he walked over to the other side of where she was lying, facing her. "And you?"

She had to stop and think for a minute, too many thoughts swimming around her head for her to focus.

"Linwood Adelyn." She said. Her voice sounded more awake now. Hm.

Ritsuka had to wonder at her eye colour as they traced the room. They were like a silvery hazel. He'd never seen anything like it.

"That's a unique name." The boy with the mint name said. She shrugged. "I guess that's just me, then." Adelyn smiled softly.

Examining the bandaging on her left arm as she opened and closed her hand, she added "How long was I out for?" her memory, she had concluded, was coming back in glimpses.

"We can't tell." The one named Soubi said. "You were already unconscious when we found you. You could have been out for days."

The girl blinked. She shook her head disbelievingly.

"And I was in water, too?.. I couldn't have been there for too long, that water was most likely cold, and what if I had-"

Suddenly, everyone was too quiet. Her mind reeled. She knew by the look on their faces that they weren't telling her something. A more panicked version of a laugh burst through her lips before adding "That's impossible! ..You can't be serious."

She could have been talking to herself, for all it was worth.

The blonde one, _Soubi,_ she corrected herself in her mind, started off slowly.

"Three of your ribs were injured. Two were cracked pretty badly, and one snapped in half."

She froze, her eyes riveted on the man speaking in front of her.

He continued on as if he didn't see her shocked expression.

"Your arm is almost broken- Yes. The left one." He added as she stopped flexing her hand. "And you _had _a concussion." He stopped to fix her with a kind smile, before speaking again.

"I think you owe us an explanation."

"..Me?!" She sputtered, obviously confused. "I should be dead! How should I know why I'm still here? If this really happened like you say, then why did you bring me here??"

She sat up abruptantly, her ribs pounding in protest. Swinging her legs over the side of the couch, she attempted to stand.

"I'm no use here, I should go." She said to no one in particular as she steadied herself on the arm of the couch. Ignoring Ritsuka saying "Careful!!" behind her. She was surprised as she heard a sigh before both of her wrists were grabbed. Startled, she looked into a pair of light purple eyes, framed by mint green hair. _My god, he's tall.. wait. What just happened? How'd he get here so fast?!_

"Relax." He said, looking down at her as she squirmed. "You'll only hurt yourself. We'd all appreciate it if you'd just sit down and _not_ hurt yourself again."

The girl shook her head almost frantically. She was startling to not trust these people anymore- something wasn't right.

"I can take care of myself. I'll be- Oh, Sorry!"

In her movements, she had thrown her wrists down, knocking his hand into the corner of the glass table. It left a small cut that started to bleed slowly. This got the girl to sit down quietly.

She wasn't prepared for what happened next.

"Doesn't hurt." He said casually, playing with the ripped skin. He didn't seem to care about the growing amount of blood sticking to his fingers.

"..W-What is going on?"

At this, she turned sharply to look at Soubi. Ritsuka's face was in his hand, muttering what sounded like 'Smooth, Youji..' as he shook his head. Well, now she knew who was who..

She heard Soubi sigh.

"Adelyn.. do you know what Spell Battles are?"

* * *

"..I should have known." She said calmly, seeming more relaxed now that she knew what was going on. She turned her attention to the top of the bandage on her left arm, mumbling an apology to whoever bandaged her up. As she began to unwrap the bandage, an older bandage was exposed underneath that went from the tip of her shoulder to the crease of her elbow. She left the newer bandage wrapped around her wrist and hand as she started to unwrap the older one. She unraveled this one more carefully, running her fingers under the bandage and pulling slightly.

Wincing slightly, the word _**Dreamless**_ was exposed as the bandage fell from her arm; Visible even through the bruises.

* * *

Praise to **_kyuukichan669_** and **AnimePhoenixReborn** for my first two reviews! 8D

Reviewers get Cookies!

o3o;


	3. The Homeless Heart

They had talked for a while after that, trying to get to know each other. Adelyn had not said much about herself, preferring to listen rather then interrupt. Nobody seemed to blame her- Throughout the conversation Ritsuka noticed her eyelids drooping ever so slightly. He could understand her sleepiness; Healing could take a lot out of you.

Soon enough, He noticed the smaller girl's eyes close, and he and Soubi sleepwalked her over to the couch, pretending not to hear Youji's queries of "Why don't you just wake her up already?" Soon enough, she was, again, in a light slumber on the couch.

_Man, that girl can sleep…  
_

Zero had left sometime after she fell asleep, running into their room to play on their console. Soon whoops of "YOU'RE DEAD!" And yelps of entertainment could be heard. Yup, Zero were entertained...

As Ritsuka and Soubi walked back around, the fighter noticed his sacrifice glance at the sleeping figure on the couch worriedly. Seeing a window of opportunity, he swiftly caught his sacrifice in a bear hug, said sacrifice letting out a startled yelp.

"You're so cute when you're worried."

"Baka...!"

Letting his now disgruntled sacrifice go, he made his way to his room. The fighter had an assignment due soon. He couldn't help but suppress a smile at the interested glance both zero gave the girl as they walked past the sleeping figure later.

This would be interesting.

---x

She woke fairly early, and didn't understand why. Taking a minute to remember where she was, she sighed. She really shouldn't have allowed them to keep her here. But, they did have a point. She was pretty banged up, and wasn't going to magically heal too quickly.

Stretching carefully, she rolled herself over to get back to sleep.

..And successfully slid onto the floor with a dull _thud._

Holding back a startled groan in fear of waking someone, she let out a pained sigh. Edging herself into a sitting position, she was pretty sure that wasn't the smartest decision she had ever made. The blankets seemed as if they were intent on trapping her legs together, and bringing one of the couch pillows with it. Adelyn looked around then, trying to get used to the idea of staying here for a while.

Then she saw it.

The door.

The plan came to her quickly. She could sneak around, grab what she needed, and go. It almost seemed too easy. For a second, she was sure and went to get up; then she realized a major flaw. There was no way she could even make it out the door looking like she did now. Gingerly, she touched her ribcage. It was still really sore, but felt like an improvement.

Her arm no longer hurt.

_Hm.  
_

After her little plan failed, she sat on the floor for a while; thinking about easing herself back up onto the couch again.

Deciding to stay put as her ribs protested, her mind wandered as she thought about the previous conversation.

"_You already have your name?" Natsuo murmured, interested. She nodded in earnest as she started to rewrap the bandaging.  
_

"_I prefer to keep it covered.. " She had said. "I can't exactly pass something like that off as a tattoo.  
_

And now here she was.

She knew pretty much everything. The two boys, Natsuo and Youji, Were Zero, and couldn't feel pain. She knew Soubi was Beloved, and Ritsuka Loveless. They had seemed hesitant when telling her that Soubi fought alongside the raven-haired boy. Honestly, she couldn't have wondered why. The girl saw nothing against it. His name- actually, both of their names- sounded familiar to her somehow, but she couldn't remember how or from where. Noticing that the first breaks of dawn were shining through the sky in folded gold streaks, she carefully pulled herself back onto the couch. As she snuggled down into the blanket, she couldn't help but agree to the stray thought that crossed her mind.

Someone up there must like her _a lot_, for her to have ended up here.

..Or hate her.

--------x

She slept hard and long for the next two days.

Waking up in the mornings, Ritsuka would laugh quietly to himself at how spent she looked, the irony of sleeping for hours. He could tell she was healing rather quickly, the colour returning to her face over the few days she had been with them. "_When you are physically hurt enough, your body goes into overtime as you sleep. This means a quicker recovery rate..." _The sacrifice remembered hearing during a lesson a little while ago. That little piece of information helped him every now and again, when his mother would find a reason to hurt him...

He shook the thought out of his head. Not a good thing to keep thinking about, he already knew.

The small girl slept quite soundly, not making much noise or moving too much. He wondered, vaguely, if she had subconsciously put herself into a healing coma. Pondering over it later, he had to dismiss the idea. Ritsuka had a feeling that she didn't know much about the world she was living in. Almost as proof to himself, he remembered the conversation they had had last night.  
--

_The girl (Or Adelyn, as he had to keep reminding himself) seemed calm now that she knew what was going on around her. They chatted briefly, keeping a tab on how she was doing. He and Soubi could both tell that she was getting tired. They now knew from this conversation that she was around 14 years old, and almost a year younger then Zero and Ritsuka.  
_

"_So," Natsuo started. "Where's your unit?"  
_

_She looked lost for a second.  
_

"_My?.. Oh. ..Jeez."  
_

_They all looked at her for a minute, noticing the worried look on her face before she hid it again.  
_

_A small, sheepish grin crossed her face.  
_

"_I should remember that, shouldn't I..? Youji blinked. Soubi looked concerned.  
_

_Adelyn shrugged softly, most likely being careful of her arm. "I can't remember a bunch of stuff right now. It'll probably come back with time.." Ritsuka couldn't help the slight sense of worry that came to his mind.  
_

"_..But I think that I'm a sacrifice. I can remember that much."  
--_

They had all seen the worried look on her face, before it was swiftly hidden under a mask she had created.

They left it alone.

"Ritsuka-kun?"

Yukio looked into his face then, which, until now, had been hidden under his arms. A confused but happy expression was plastered onto her face.

"The bell rang! Soubi's waiting for you!"

The sacrifice blinked, realizing that he was still in the now empty classroom. He left with Yukio, the girl bouncing happily and chattering away about how her mother was allowing her to get a hamster as they walked out of the building. Separating when they met with Soubi, as was the usual way they parted, both Fighter and Sacrifice made their way back to Soubi's apartment. Ritsuka had a routine that he followed. He would now switch houses, staying with Soubi for a couple days, and then going back to his house. His mother had agreed, most likely because it sounded like something that the "Real Ritsuka" would want to do. Then again, he had told her that three days a week he would be staying at a friend's house.

_Technically, he hadn't _"lied"...

"Has she woken up yet?" The raven haired boy asked Soubi as they walked. It was the last day before he had to go back to his mother.

"I think that she was waking up as I left." He answered.

They were quiet for a while, enjoying the sun that was getting its last few rays in before winter hit. After a while, Ritsuka spoke again.

"She hasn't said much about herself, has she?"

Soubi smiled. "Adelyn is probably still unsure about us. She's only been with us for about a week, remember?"

"..Good point."

Soubi chuckled, and before the Sacrifice knew it, his fighter's lips were on his.

Caught off guard, he instinctively wrapped his arms around Soubis waist, a blush spread across his cheeks as Soubi deepened it softly. When he broke off, Ritsuka huffed teasingly. Soubi bent over to press his forehead against his sacrifices.

"You know what people would say if they saw us?" He said teasingly, watching Soubi hold back a chuckle. "They'd say 'Oh wow, that man's a Pervert.'" He scolded teasingly. Soubi chuckled as Ritsuka turned toward the door, searching through his pocket for the key. Soubi realized that Ritsuka was gaining on him in height. Another year or two, and he might even be taller then him. Watching as he found the key under the mat, they opened the door to find Adelyn sitting up on the couch, uninterestingly watching TV with Zero; who happened to be leaning against the bottom of said object. Seeing them walk in, she carefully maneuvered her legs out from under her and waved. Soubi could tell that she most likely had just woken up.

"Feeling any better?" Ritsuka asked as he put the keys down on a small table near the door, starting to unwrap the scarf from around his neck. It was starting to get cold out.

"Loads." She said with a smile, her voice rasping slightly with sleep. "I can actually move now." She opened and closed the hand on her hurt arm, adding "The fracture doesn't hurt anymore, either."

She heard Ritsuka laugh as he walked down the small hallway towards his usual room. "Well, I think that fractures are going to heal first before ribs, anyway."

She laughed as well, happy that she was healing so quickly.

The teen heard Soubi doing something in the kitchen as Ritsuka starting packing. The two boys on the ground were watching some odd guy with neon yellow hair that almost made her eyes hurt. But, it was giving her –and them- something to do, so she didn't mind it.

After a couple more minutes of watching the lemon-haired guy on the television start punching some green guy to death, she asked "Do you guys have a shower?" She heard Soubi chuckle in the kitchen as Natsuo answered.

"Down that hallway, to the left. ...There's also fresh bandaging under the sink." He added, watching as she pressed her good arm against her ribcage uncomfortably.

After she had walked into the bathroom, Natsuo spoke.

"She seems pretty tough to go through all that and still be able to stand."

Youji shrugged.

"She might be in more pain then she's letting on."

----------------x

Adelyn groaned uncomfortably as she unwound the bandage, letting it fall off of her torso. Whoever had wrapped them as she was unconscious had done a good job. Two bruises stood out predominantly on her pale skin, one larger and darker then the other. She guessed that was where the two ribs she had injured were located. The darker was obviously the snapped one.. and it was swollen too. She shuddered, directing her attention toward the bandages around her arm. The girl didn't want to think about snapping bones. As she unwrapped her arm, she let her mind wander over to the last discussion they had had, when she had found herself here for the first time.

The neko had no idea if she had someone out there, like they had asked. If she had a fighter, (Or a sacrifice, if she had thought wrong about herself) wouldn't they be looking for her? Wouldn't the other Dreamless be using their bond to try and find her?

Adelyn knew somehow that there was no one like that for her. Even looking into herself, she could feel nothing. No trace of another person, no feelings that belong to another person, nothing. Not even a hole where something like that should be.

Sighing, she now tried to get her mind off _that _thought.

The bathroom was fairly small, but fit everything a normal bathroom would have without seeming too crowded. She liked it.  
Noticing that her hair was longer then she preferred it, she bent down to look for the medical kit. Finding it easily, she took out the scissors and bandages and placed them onto the counter for later. Feeling more relaxed for the first time in a while, she stepped into the shower.

The hot water soothed her as it rolled down her back, washing away any dirt and stinging some small cuts slightly. She sighed. The small girl still ached, but the hot water was soaking deeply into her muscles, releasing the tension that had stored itself there. Adelyn closed her eyes as she let the hot water pour down her head, soaking her hair again…

_Her feet slapped hard against the pure white tiles, echoing around the matching hallways as she ran furiously toward her room, clutching her bloody arm. It registered that her blood contrasted greatly against the pure white of the building, but she had other things to worry about._

_It didn't hurt yet, but it would soon.. _

_She shoved her body against her bedroom door, hearing something snap. Something in the back of her mind told her it was the doorknob. At the time, she couldn't have cared less._

_Shoving the most important things she could get her hands on into a small bag, needless to say she wasn't surprised as two of the so-called "Professors" burst through the door. She took a step back, eyeing them and the distance towards the window.. It was open, and big enough.._

_Before she could think to run, one of the teachers made a grab for her, missing by a hair, and she made a break for the door-_

_Suddenly the other, smaller female had grabbed out and tackled her to the floor, using her hair as leverage. She screamed, kicking out at the older woman, but it was no use._

_A sharp, metal object pierced her back, and brought with it a burning feeling that spread across her back, leaving her nerves dead, taking her vision with it.. She screamed, but no sound escaped.. it BURNS!.._

She gasped and slipped backwards away from the stream of water, the emotions of panic and adrenaline distracting her from the loud _bang_ that the back of her head made as it connected with the wall. Her heart raced ahead of her, and she started to have trouble breathing.

_What the __**hell**__..?!_

A knock on the door snapped her out of her confusion.

"Are you ok in there?" She recognized Ritsuka's voice from behind the water.

"I'm ok.." She lied. "I just slipped!" She couldn't stop the slight waver in her voice as she talked. She could picture the violet-eyed boy hearing her own voice, could almost see the small frown that would be evident on his face.

"We have clothes for you, I'll leave them outside the door."

_Oh._ She hadn't thought about anything like that yet.

"Thank you!" She called, sounding more assured then she felt.

She pictured him smiling as he walked away, not worrying anymore, as she hoped he did. She liked the people who lived here. The bonus that they were both units worked for all of them as well. Unless they wanted to kick her out.

She chuckled to herself half heartedly, trying to slow her still-pounding heart down. She wondered what had just happened to her as she felt around her back hesitantly.

_A story?  
_

She mentally shook her head.

_A dream?  
_

She scoffed at her mind then, tracing delicately the words forever etched onto her left arm.

Then it hit her.

_A memory.  
_

And as soon as she thought it, that's what it was. Something she could actually remember, as violent as it happened to be.

_Who was she?...  
_

_-------------------------x_

"do you guys have a balcony or something?"

Addy walked around, hair slightly damp and in a mix of Natsuo and Ritsuka's clothing, holding a fistful of her own, long hair. The strands attached to her head were now just gently brushing her shoulders, bangs across her forehead.

"You cut your hair?" Natsuo asked curiously, watching as she opened the small sliding glass door and opened her fist, the hairs flying into the sky.

"It's not that hard." She shrugged, watching the hair fly off into the wind. "The birds can use that to make nests with." She said cheerfully, coming back inside. Zero were watching the odd tv series again.

She seemed to be in little or no pain at all as she walked toward Ritsuka, who seemed to be intent on scribbling something down quickly in one of his notebooks before shoving it into his backpack.

"Going somewhere?" She asked casually, Her one true memory still echoing in the back of her mind. His half packed backpack lay against the table leg, seeming like it was about to burst.

"I'm going home today." He said, sending a friendly smile in her direction. "I switch houses every week."

"WHOO!"

"KICK HIS ASS!"

Both nekos blinked as Youji and Natsuo started cheering and laughing at the Tv. Apparently the green-thing had won.

"..You'll get used to that." He said with a laugh, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "They can do worse then screaming."

She shrugged at that good naturedly. The Black-haired boy stood and glanced at the clock before slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"Soubi's staying late at his university, so he might be a little late." He turned, quickly grabbing his spare key and what looked to be another small duffle bag. He waved a small goodbye as he closed the door.

Aka, she thought dully, I'm stuck with these two for the next _little while._ A collective groan immerged from the couch as some kind of yellow haired man seemed intent on staying alive.

_Hm.  
_

So as she walked to the side of the couch, sitting on the floor and leaning against the arm, she wondered if she could be like that weird dude with the neon yellow hair.

..as corny as it sounded.

"UGH. Why isin't it dead yet?"

"Why are you asking me?"

_-------------------------x_

His voice echoed around the brightly lit studio, cell phone in hand. The studio was empty, each echoing noise making up for the lack of activity. An almost finished painting stood on a canvas by the window, surrounded by other works of art that seemingly pressed themselves against the wall. He stood by the window, the cool breeze moving his blonde hair softly. He dreaded making this call; but it had been nagging him for hours now. He needed information. And he had none.

_Huh.._

**Beep. Beeeeep.  
**

**Beeeeeeep.  
**

**Bee-  
**

_"Ah, Soubi-kun."_

He steeled himself against not answering. _The only way,_ he told himself_._

"You sent us part of a unit."

A short, quiet pause.

_"I did no such thing."_

The fighter gazed out of the window, thinking about the snow that would most likely fall soon.

"I'm disappointed, then."

A pause again, both almost at a deadly silence.

_"You assume that I would try to trick you?"_

"Well, you have in the past!" Soubi seethed, his eyes flashing dangerously as he all but yelled into the phone. He hated this. Why was he doing this?

It was quiet on the other line again. A sigh was heard distantly, and keys could be heard clicking as the phone picked the sound up. The cool, almost winter breeze blew into the usually warm studio, tracing its fingers down Soubi's neck.

_"Do you not remember, Soubi-kun, that we are not the only fighter school of our kind?"_

_Click._

**Beep. Beep. Beep…  
**

The blonde stood silently for a minute longer, absorbing the small amount of information before going back to his painting. Silently, he cursed Ritsu. He wasn't anywhere near closer to figuring this out then when he had started.

------------------x

Ritsuka quietly walked into his house, the door clicking shut behind him. He could hear his mother watching something in the other room. His socked feet padded against the floor to where she sat. Taking a breath to calm his pounding heart, he spoke.

"Mother, Don't plan on making dinner for me tonight. I have a last-minute test that I really need to study for." He could feel his hands shaking. He hoped that it wasn't visible.

His mother turned from the couch sharply, and he fought to keep himself from flinching as a particularly vivid memory of the same woman breaking a plate over his head surfaced. She eyed him warily, not moving. He could tell something was off. Her eyes seemed tired, dull- almost glazed over. He spotted a bottle of medication on the floor.

"You are five minutes late."

"Gomen."

After a long pause, he felt like sighing in relief as she turned her focus towards the TV. Trying not to attract her attention (Because he didn't exactly know how long his luck could last) He picked up the bottle and hurried to his room. When he arrived, he closed the door and let out a shaky breath. That was the one excuse he knew worked. Even though the guilt was starting to eat at him slightly, It was the only way he knew how to avoid her anger. For once, she had taken her pills, which meant that she could be out of it for a while. He could see why she usually refused to take them; The effect they had on a person was slightly worrying…

Then again, it looked like she had taken more then the prescribed amount...

He shoved the bottle into an empty drawer, shuddering. Just the bottle itself started to creep him out. Sitting down on his bed, he pulled out some books, and an apple. He actually hadn't been lying this time- His new science teacher had decided to test the class on how much they knew. Time to remember the basics…

He set off to work as he munched onto his apple, watching the time and his now never locked balcony door. Soubi usually visited on nights like these.

------------------------x--------------------------x----------------------

I'MSOSORRYTHATITOOKSOLONG *Ducks a brick hurled from some random unknown reviewer.*

I had some major personal problems during the last couple of months. It's been hard to get me to do much at all.

Please, if I haven't lost everybody, review?..

;_________;'?


End file.
